The rainy season started on a good note today for many San
Benito County ranchers with the first big storm of the year.
HOLLISTER
The rainy season started on a good note today for many San Benito County ranchers with the first big storm of the year.
New Agriculture Commissioner Ron Ross said today’s relatively large rain storm has started “the season out right” for ranchers, although he also noted how it poses a bump in the road for some farmers harvesting such crops as tomatoes and walnuts. The wet conditions for those farmers, however, merely delay the harvest a bit.
“A nice rain like this will certainly start the season out right, and we’ll definitely need that with the last two years,” said Ross, recently appointed as acting agriculture commissioner.
As for the timing, Ross said it’s a little early in the year for a major rain storm, but he noted how they can occur in some years as early as late September.
Ross also pointed out how he had noticed some seasonal springs in southern San Benito County dried up earlier than usual last year, and that “we need a good year of above-average rain to replenish the groundwater supplies.”
